Stolen glances
by Sparkliing
Summary: [MS]Martin wants Sam. Sam wants Martin. But neither will do anything about it. That's when Dannys decides to help.
1. A big night

Title: Stolen Glances  
Author: Linnea  
Pairing: M/S, what else?   
Disclaimer: As usual, I own nothing and if I did, something like this would happen in the show and there would be a lot more M/S-moments.  
Rating: K, just to be sure.  
Summary: Martin wants Sam. Sam wants Martin. But neither will do anything about it. That's when Danny decides to help.  
A/N: I know it's the stort of June and this is a Christmas.fic, but I want to post it anyway, so I will.

Maybe something simular to this has been done before, but in that case, please forgive me. This is my first fic I've ever written that's not a song-fic or a one-shot, so please be nice to me. This is also the first thing I'm posting here, which makes me even more nervous. R&R!  
Here goes:

Part 1 – A big night

Three days left until Christmas, Sam thought as she sat at her work-laden desk. They had more paperwork than ever to finish in order to get a few well deserved days off over the holidays and on top of that she just had to get off early today to have enough time to get ready for the Office Christmas party that same evening. She certainly had a lot to do and it took time to get her hair and clothes and nails ready. So after letting her mind wander a few seconds she quickly got back to work and stared down at all the reports before her that had to be signed and filed.

She worked for 5 minutes before feeling her gaze drift back up again towards a certain person standing with his back to her over at the coffee machine. Martin had been the center of all her non-work-related thoughts for quite awhile now, and more than often, she let her mind daydream about him. It wasn't easy with them working so closely together everyday and the mass of sexual tension hanging in the air didn't exactly make things easier.

She often let her drifting gaze stop at his back and she was scared he would notice. She had absolutely no idea what he thought or felt about her, sure he had expressed he wanted more then friendship with her before, but that was a long time ago and a lot of things could have changed since then. Sometimes she caught him staring at her too and she couldn't help but feel that he could read her like an open book and yet she had no idea what was going on in his head. It was a very disconcerting feeling.

Yet she still felt extremely attracted to him. Every time he met her gaze something melted inside of her and for everyday that passed she fell more and more in love with him.

What! What was she thinking? Was she really falling in love with Martin? Seriously? She simply couldn't be. Not after all the mistakes she had made with Jack. She promised herself she would never let herself walk into that trap again.

Her head was spinning so she suppressed all the spiralling thoughts of Martin and got back to her paperwork.

Meanwhile Martin had finished his fifth refill of coffee for the day, and it wasn't even noon. He was heading back towards his desk opposite Samantha's and saw the blond beauty look down at her papers and blush slightly, something he had noticed she did more often lately. Was it him?

He shook his head, how could he even think those thoughts? She had made it clear a long time ago that she didn't have any aspirations to be with him like that, and he really should respect that. But he guessed it was like he told her that day, old feelings die hard. No matter how hard he tried to forget the way he felt about her, he didn't seem to succeed. It was so hard; she was a beautiful woman and amazingly unique. His eyes always got stuck watching her during work-hours and he didn't want anyone to notice. It could become really awkward if anyone did. So he quickly diverted his gaze back to the computer screen and concentrated on the reports. No more thoughts of Samantha today, he decided.

What neither of them knew was that that through the window of Jack's office someone was watching their little game of stolen glances. And it wasn't Jack. As Danny saw them throw hot looks at one another a smile crept onto his face. It was kind of fun coming to work watching them everyday, and he was even more amused as he knew nothing would happen. Despite the sexual tension that had always been between them, Martin thought Samantha didn't want him when in fact she did. But sure, Danny could see that. She had blown him off before and if something were to happen, it had to be Sam who initiated it. And that was exactly why nothing would happen. She was way too scared of getting hurt in the end to even flirt casually so that was a total dead end. Seeing as they didn't have any case and only paperwork which Danny was almost finished with, he figured he had a lot of time to figure out a solution to this little problem, hopefully before the Christmas party tonight.

Twenty minutes later Martin was out of coffee again and desperately needed the energy boost, so he got up to get some more but kept his eyes on the floor along the way. He was afraid that if he met Sam's gaze he would blush and he just couldn't do that, he was a man for Christ's sake. Sam had just gotten her coffee and was heading out of the break room but since she also kept her gaze on the cold grey floor for the same reason as Martin, she didn't see him coming and they bumped right into each other.

She spilled half of the coffee in her newly refilled coffee mug over her shirt and squealed at the hot burning sensation rushing over her chest. Martin looked up stunned but couldn't get a word out of his mouth. His instincts took hold of him though and he quickly pushed her inside the break room again. He went and grabbed wet paper towels and quickly started to wipe the steaming hot coffee off her chest in rapid motions. She just looked at him, amazed at the secure way he handled it all.

"I'm so sorry Sam," he said while wiping her blouse clean. He couldn't even look her in the eyes.

"No, no. Don't be. It was my fault. I should've looked up and seen you coming."

"You couldn't. It was totally me." Martin felt really embarrassed.

"Let's make some new coffee," Sam suggested.

She went over to the shelf and reached up to bring down the coffee powder. Both she and Martin went for it at the same time and they nearly bumped heads but Martin saw it coming just in time and let her take the powder. When they stood straight again he finally looked into her eyes. It dawned on her just how close they really were and she froze in his blue gaze. Time seemed to stop and the both got lost in each other. Sam was so close to reaching up and kissing him but just couldn't bring herself to do it. They probably stood there like fools for at least two minutes until he finally averted his gaze and stepped away. Martin, she's not interested in you in that kind of way. You know that. Get yourself together man, he thought.

Sam started making the coffee and dropped a spoon on the floor. She turned around and picked it up but when she did that Martin stood behind her so he got a real good look at her ass. Once again he froze, but came back down to earth quickly again as it would be really awkward if she caught him staring at her ass. Not good. But she just handed him his cup of coffee and apologised again for bumping into him earlier. Then she walked out the door.

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately for them, Danny was in a place where he had managed to catch this little scene between the two of them. It was funny the way all their actions spoke so loudly for them and still neither dared to make the first move. It was then that he decided he just had to do something about this little "problem".

It was quite amusing, but he was beginning to get tired of watching them walking like cats around hot plates at the office and well it was obvious that neither was going to do anything about it, so he just had to do it for them. They just needed a little help and then he was convinced everything would be fine and they would forgive him for what he was about to do. He sure hoped it would work. Tonight's Christmas party was the perfect place and this was the perfect time. He had his plan all worked out...

After her and Martin's encounter earlier Sam fought hard just to concentrate on work and to get home soon. She didn't look up and meet his blue eyes, even though she was very tempted to as she could feel him looking at her. She tried not to think about a potential relationship with Martin since it really scared her and it would make her run. She didn't want to run. Not this time.

On the one hand she really was scared of getting involved with Martin, she didn't know what he would be like in a relationship and if they would work out. She could easily become the center of gossip at the office and it would ruin her already tainted reputation to have slept with two guys on the same team. But on the other hand she was having a really hard time fighting her attraction to him, it was inevitable. She felt like they had the best chemistry and she really wanted him, he was after all hot. But was it worth risking everything for?

No. It wasn't. At least not yet. She didn't dare follow her heart.

It was soon time to leave for the day and go home to get ready for their "big night". Martin was just finishing the last reports. He stood up, grabbed his coat and packed his things.

"Well I'm done here. See you later tonight guys"

"Yeah, see you soon" Viv and Danny both replied.

"You got much left there Sam?" he asked her trying to sound casual.

"No, not much. I'm surprised I got it done so quickly actually. Thought I wouldn't have anytime to go home and get ready," she said and smiled at him. He fought hard to come up with something sweet and charming to say but couldn't so he decided to talk to her more at the party.

"Good then, I'll see you later on the "big night". He gave her one of his breath-taking, very cute smiles and walked off towards the elevators.

Both Danny and Samantha were left smiling inwardly, tiny grins plastered on their faces after his departure. Sam smiled at Martin's smile, his cute comments and that he wanted to talk to her more. Danny smiled because they didn't know how much of a "big night" this would be for them. But he did.


	2. Dannys games

**A/N:** Here's the second part of three, so the next chapter will be the last. This one's a little longer, but I hope it's okay. Oh and if you haven't noticed that I looovvee cliffhangers, you will in this chapter. Just a little warning.

This is my first story, so pleeeaaaasssee review if you can, it means really much.

Sam was standing in front of the mirror in her bedroom at her downtown apartment. She had gotten off work just a few minutes after Martin, which left her several hours to get ready for tonight's party. It took a lot of energy to figure out what to wear. She wanted to look presentable and proper but at the same time dress up a little more then usual and feel nice. And of course most importantly, she wanted Martin to notice her. She may not dare to follow her heart but that didn't mean she wouldn't very much enjoy his attention. Finally now she was ready. She wore a cute dress, raspberry colored and knee-length, sleeveless and deeply cut in the front so it showed a bit of skin. But it wasn't slutty, as they called it. Still presentable. With that she wore high-heeled black boots, matching golden earrings and a silver necklace which was an old birthday present from her mother from when she was a little girl. She was finally satisfied with her appearance and grabbed her purse and went to hail a cab.

On his lunch break Danny had gone home and packed his clothes into a bag and brought them with him to the office so he didn't have to go home before the party and could change there instead. This was the one and only solution if he wanted his plan to work out the way it should. As soon as both Martin and Sam had left to go home and get changed he started unpacking stuff from the bag he had brought with him after lunch. Everyone kept asking him what was in it but he refused to answer and simply said "you'll see for your selves tonight". He started putting up his secrets all around the office. He brought many of them so there wouldn't be any lack of them in just the right moment when he needed them. He also made sure to hide them very well so neither Sam or Martin would be able to escape. If there was any leak in his plan or any hole they could use to get out, this would never happen. So he made sure there weren't any leaks. There would be no way out. He would force them to confront their feelings.

When Martin walked into the MPU office that normally was kind of dull and boring and saw all the cheerful decorations in the windows, by the giant Christmas tree and all over the place he was pleasantly surprised. Sure, it had always been a nicely decorated Christmas party, but last year was nothing like this. They had definitely outdone his expectations to say the least. He just loved what they'd done to the place.

He was arriving just on time but most people were a little early so the office was totally crowded with important and unimportant FBI-people from all departments. Luckily his father wouldn't be there because that would ruin Martin's evening totally.

Danny's too actually since that meant his plan would be ruined. He was pretty sure Victor Fitzgerald wouldn't like what he would've seen if he would be there tonight. But he wouldn't be. Luckily for everyone.

Danny was there already which surprised Martin, usually Mr. Taylor was always the one arriving late to these things. 'Oh well, maybe he wanted a chance to check out all the ladies as they walk in' Martin thought. He couldn't have been more wrong.

Samantha entered the decorated MPU office just five minutes after Martin did. Their department had been chosen to host the event this year, which meant they had to clean the desks and be there until everyone had gone home, but they weren't needed to do any preparation, which was normally what a host would do. The bureau was strange sometimes.

As soon as she stepped out of the elevator Martin saw her. Of course he had been looking out for her arrival ever since he himself had arrived while casually talking to other people but showing more interest in the elevator doors. And she was breathtaking. He shouldn't have expected less, really. But somehow he didn't see this one coming. She was beautiful and she was walking right towards him and Danny standing talking near the bar. He just couldn't keep his eyes off her.

"Hi everyone," she tried to sound happy and casual and not like the nervous wreck she was feeling inside.

"Hey hot stuff. Looking good tonight," Danny mentioned in his brotherly, friendly way.

"Yeah, you look beautiful," Martin complimented her.

Danny called her hot stuff and commented her appearance at work everyday, but with Martin, it was something she wasn't used to. Therefore she looked down at the floor and could feel her cheeks burn.

"Thanks". When she felt ready she looked back up again and gave Martin a smile. 

Danny watched the exchange with a smirk. Now he knew for sure that what he was about to do was what was best for them both. If everything went as planned there would be a Martin and Samantha by the end of the night.

As the night went on and everyone consumed more alcohol things became more relaxed. Sam didn't think about her appearance every time Martin was less then ten feet away from her anymore and Martin didn't blush every time she looked him in the eyes.

The Party was much more fun now that all the boring bureaucratic people had left and those who had an actual social life and could talk to people was left. It made all of them more comfortable really. Now they could enjoy an evening of great food, good company and lots of fun.

Danny looked around the decorated MPU-office at all his co-workers having a great time and talking to each other. But something was missing. It had been two hours since the party started and they had done nothing more then talking in small or larger groups of people. It was time to get a little action going around here and start on his plan.

So he clinked his water filled glass with a spoon like he was about to make a speech but it served its purpose when everyone fell silent and directed their full attention towards him.

"Okay everyone, are you having a good time tonight?" he started out.

When a mumble of Yes-es were heard he took that as his cue to continue.

"Good, I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves. But tonight I thought we would do something a little unusual, different from all the previous FBI-events. Something to make this evening more fun and special. What do you think about that?"

Approving looks and smiles were given to him so he went on with his plan.

"So I've prepared a few games for all of us to play. The first one is...

..a Music-quiz!"

Everyone applauded and smiled at Danny's fun game and split up into teams to get ready to play.

As the first bars of a song were played whoever new the song would stand up and say the name of the song and the artist who performed it. Sam had been fortunate and gotten in the same team as Martin who was excellent at this game. After and hour or so of playing, laughing and having fun their team had clearly won.

When the game had ended Danny decided to wait at least fifteen minutes before starting up phase 2 of his plan. He was pretty sure the whole office understood earlier that this wasn't the only game he had organized for the night but they probably needed to calm down before they were ready for the new one.

Everything just had to go perfectly now, this was the hard part of the plan. If either Martin or Samantha backed out now or found an escape route he hadn't covered but knew fully well they both would be looking for, he was screwed. Especially by Samantha. If she didn't do what he had counted on her doing the whole plan would backfire. He knew she would search for an escape from the position he would put her in, but if she found one, that was when he would be really dead. If she found out this was a plan by the all mighty Danny Taylor she would kill him.

But he did have good intentions, and he had already come so far, he just couldn't stop now. Every time Martin's eyes met Samantha's, there was pure love there. He looked at her as if he worshipped the ground she walked on, and Danny new that was how in love with her he was.

Ever since their eyes first met there had been something there. Maybe it wasn't feelings of love in the beginning, but it was always something, an unbearable attraction so strong that Danny knew in the end none of them would be able to fight it.

All of them had probably known from the start that Martin and Sam would get together sooner or later, Danny just wanted to give them the first push because he knew both of them were too stubborn to do it themselves.

Since they would get together, it was just a waste of time for both of them not to. They could save lots of precious time with each other with a little help from Danny Taylor.

It was just that every time he or another team member tried to talk to either of them about what was clearly there between them, they would deny it. Neither wanted to admit their feelings, so he'd force them to do it.

He stood up in front of the large crowd and clinked his water glass again for the same purpose as last time.

"Excuse me everyone can I have your attention please?" he said.

Everybody soon went quiet and turned their heads to see what Danny was up to next. They all had enjoyed the little changes from the boring traditions and so they were looking forward to Danny's next game.

"The night is far from over yet, and I have made another game for us to play"

Everybody's ears perked up and they got more and more excited as Danny went quiet and held out on the answer everyone was waiting for.

But Sam wasn't concentrating on Danny's little speech like the rest of the party. She was preoccupied with other things. Or thoughts of other things, maybe you could say.

Because they were all sitting on chairs squeezed in very tight next to each other around the small table. And of course Martin was the one sitting right behind her. He was so close she could feel his tickling breath on her exposed skin at the back of her dress. It sent shivers all over her body and she just couldn't fight against how good it felt being so close to him.

He didn't seem to notice how close they were though; when Sam stole a glance at him he was focused on Danny talking in front of them.

She didn't know why that disappointed her. It shouldn't really. There was nothing going on between her and Martin right? She knew he probably didn't have feelings for her like she had for him. So why did she feel like this, it was nothing to be disappointed about since there wasn't anything there.

As soon as she diverted her gaze back to Danny's figure in front of the crowd he looked back at her. He had really been looking at her all night; it was just a facade that he looked away when he saw her turning her head to look at him. He was well aware of just how close they were, he could see her skin on the back and she looked wonderful with her blond long hair floating freely over her shoulders.

He was abruptly pulled back though from his thoughts of Samantha when Danny raised his voice once again to reveal the next game of the night.

"This game is..."

TBC


	3. Suprise, suprise

**A/N:** A thanks to everybody that's reviewed and to all the readers out there, both at Destined and here. So this is the final chapter of my first real fanfiction. Makes me kind of sad. But No. I'm in such a good mood cause I'm on summer vacation! Woho! And I'll have time for so much more writing. And reading. Hopefully I'll get some new stories up here soon. And this is dedicated to:

Rat, fitz and martinandsam4eva at Destined – for nagging on me to update and for inspiring me and encouraging me to continue with my writing. Love.

Sqully- I've had some great conversations about M/S and Wat in general with you, so much fun! And thank you for your reviews.

Pealee- for just reviewing and being positive towards me and the story. Thank you.¨

Specialfrog – for being my first reviewer!

And to Hamilyn, Evergreen.C and WaT-SM for reviewing and making my day!

**Part Three - Suprise, Suprise**

"This game is..."

Danny smirked at his own fun idea and he liked the feeling of seeing everyone's anticipating faces before him, their misery when he held out for the answer.

"Dance-Bingo!"

Everyone responded just as cheerfully as last time with applause and great big smiles on their faces. This really did make everyone's night more fun.

This was a huge part of the genius plan to get Martin and Samantha together by the end of the night. Everything had to run smoothly and nobody could discover his secret.

"Okay, here are the rules everyone" Danny said to the group. "You each will be given a play plan with 9 squares on it. Like in a normal game of Bingo. But in these squares you won't put numbers but the names of all the persons you dance with."

Loud rumbles and discussions about the game were started all over the place and Danny had to clink hard and scream to get their attention back. It reminded him of kindergarten when all the kids were so loud.

"Oi! Everyone!" He screamed. "I'm not finished here. You have to know all the rules in order to play the game, right? So, listen. You dance just one dance with each person, which means you dance from the start of the song until the end for all dumb people out there". Everyone gigged on cue, like they do in the background of comedy shows when somebody tells a bad or good joke.

"After the song ends you wright the name of the person that you danced with in one of the squares. Then you move, find a new dance partner and do the same thing over again. We'll continue until everybody has filled all the squares. Then I have this little bowl up here with everyones names in it. I will drag names and those of you who have danced with that person and therefore have that name will put an X over that square. Whoever fills their whole plan with X's first wins and gets a prize. Does everybody get the rules?"

"Yes" they all said in unison.

"Okay then, let's play Dance-bingo!"

Everyone gathered around the conference table to grab a play-plan while the music started playing. Soon a dance floor was created and filled with people having a great time.

Martin had stepped back a little bit; he didn't feel like dancing if it wasn't with one particular person. Samantha. He didn't want anyone else so it was a waste of time.

Across the office, leaning against the other wall Samantha was standing watching the dance floor. She saw happy people everywhere and felt very lonely. Christmas had never been a big thing in her family and this was just one of her desperate attempts to make it a little different this year. Everything really was perfect. She was at a party with her friends, having fun. But still there was something missing. And she knew all too well what it was…

Danny watched Martin and Samantha from a distance. It was sad that everyone was dancing and having a great time and there were two people that didn't participate in the game, but where thinking of each other.

They were the only ones that weren't on the dance floor, and yet they made no attempts to unite and just maybe start talking or flirting, or trying to do something about it. They really badly needed Danny's help.

He had thought that maybe when he started things and gave them an opportunity to get together and finally be happy, one of them would come to his or her senses and take a little initiative; maybe realize they had nothing to lose. But no, it didn't seem like it. Luckily for them he had counted on this when he had formed his plan.

The next song started up and people started swapping dance partners with each other.

The activity of the two lonely longing souls on different sides of the room didn't change. Time for the plan, Danny thought.

The Music playing was kind of loud so when Danny lowered the volume everyone turned to face him, looking to him with question marks.

What? This was only the second dance and the game should go on for at least another seven songs, what could Danny possibly want now? Sam thought as she watched his actions.

"Excuse me everyone. I'm sorry for interrupting the dance, it will soon start again, I promise. But there's just one thing I have to tell you. This game is compulsory, everyone has to play. From what I can see, there are only two people who currently aren't. So Martin and Samantha, get your butts on that dance floor and start dancing with each other"

Samantha's POV

Samantha's eyes widened in shock at Danny's statement. No. He couldn't do this. No, no, no. He knew she liked Martin; he couldn't force her to dance with him.

Suddenly her eyes met Martin's blue gaze from across the room. She looked right in to them and saw the same shock she was feeling right there too.

But deep down, there was something else. It wasn't just shock and reluctance in his eyes. There was something there. Did he want this? It was like a question, or a pleading. Was he asking her to dance with him just by looking at her that way?

No, no. He couldn't be. Great. Now she was imagining things too. Was she becoming delusional? Just what she needed on top of all this.

Time seemed to stand still as she kept her eyes locked with Martin's. She didn't want to look away and right now she didn't think she could either. It was crazy, but it felt like it was impossible to look anywhere else then into those blue eyes.

She wasn't very attentive to their surroundings but she knew it was deadly quiet and the whole office was staring at them. If someone were to drop a needle on the floor it would be heard loud and clear. 

It was strange really. Under normal circumstances she would've panicked and probably run away, but now she just couldn't bring herself to break the gaze she and Martin shared.

It was like they were the only ones that existed in the world. She didn't know how long they had been standing like this, and she didn't care.

She was still in a state of shock, but somewhere within her a certain nervousness and anxiousness was beginning to form.

Martin's POV

His first reaction when he heard what Danny said was to look up from the floor to where he knew she stood. He guessed she would be looking at him, and he was right. Her beautiful brown eyes were right there.

His first feeling was complete and utter shock. He had understood that Danny knew about his feelings for Samantha by the way he acted in the office, but he never thought he would do this and try to push them together.

Then it became rather embarrassing as it felt like the whole office looked right into his soul and knew what he was thinking and feeling.

How many people had Danny told? They were all looking from him to Samantha, waiting for an action and anticipating what they would do next.

It felt like hours that he just stood there and looked into those brown eyes. She looked as shocked and scared as he was, he didn't exactly think she was happy or would come running into his arms, dying to dance with him.

Clearly it was the exact opposite; she didn't feel any need to dance with him at all.

Still he couldn't help but feel a little happy about the situation. There was a small chance he would get to dance with the woman of his dreams.

He continued to watch her, standing there so stunningly beautiful but still insecure of what to do. He knew he had to act and do something, he couldn't just stand there. He so wanted to just walk over and sweep her of her feet.

And it was obligatory; he had to do it, right? Slowly, he was persuading himself to do this. As he saw it, there was no way either of them could escape or walk around this.

It wasn't likely they could run out of the office, that would seem kind of weird. And since Danny seemed very determined that everybody had to dance, trying to escape that way wasn't an option either.

So they had to dance with each other, that couldn't be so bad, right? It wasn't like just because they shared a dance anything else would happen. He might want it too but since she quite obviously wasn't ready or didn't want to, nothing would happen.

It was just two friends and co-workers sharing a dance. Nothing more, at least not to her. Or so he thought.

And with that he slowly started taking steps and walking towards Samantha.

Danny's POV

Yes! It was happening. Martin was finally making a move and walking. So far his plan was working out perfectly.

Okay, he was a little worried during all that time they were just staring at each other. Oh well, very worried. Minute after minute had seemed to pass by and they were just frozen to the spot. But just as he was ready to go in there and just push Martin to start walking, he had seen him starting to persuade himself into doing what Danny wanted. 

He had seen his inner debate with his own mind, and the right side finally winning as he started walking. Now Danny slowly moved to the stereo for the next phase of his plan. All he needed was a little luck and that they would be in the right place at the right time...

Samantha's POV

As soon as she saw those blue eyes coming closer and his feet start walking, she stopped feeling anything but nervousness.

Martin was coming to dance with her. Her Martin. The one she had been in love with for months now. She had finally admitted it.

This was crazy. And so embarrassing she would have to kill Danny later. She was just so confused. What was this? A set-up? An evil prank?

She didn't know what to think. All she knew was that Martin was coming closer and closer. She watched him walk towards her, a strange feeling of anxiety yet nervousness in her stomach. She was in love with him. It was the only answer to her feelings.

He had a determined yet warm expression on his face and he looked deadly handsome in his suit with the ocean colored tie that matched those deep eyes.

And all of a sudden he was there, standing in front of her with a silent question in his eyes and holding out a hand. She took it.

They walked out on the dance floor and all the other couples soon joined them. He held her hand as he led her towards the center of the room, and it felt great, just to hold hands.

Then the next shock came

When the music started playing it was a ballad. Before Danny's little interruption it had been up-beat and funky. Samantha immediately turned towards Danny, throwing him an angry glare. This was a plan by Danny after all.

Damn it, she had let herself get fooled by that man again. Before she had the idea that this just might be his way to set-up her and Martin, but denied it and thought it was just a way for him to humiliate and embarrass both of them as much as possible so he could tease them on Monday.

Apparently not.

Martin was as angry as she was so Danny got double the angry looks, but he didn't mind.

He knew very well that their anger was just a facade for their real emotions and was because he had humiliated them, not because they didn't want to dance with each other. That they did. There wasn't so much they could do about it anyway; everybody else had already started dancing.

So Martin wrapped his arms securely around Samantha's waist and rested his hands on the small of her back, and she brought her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. They started to sway along with the beat of the romantic music and slowly move around on the dance floor.

As they danced, Martin came to think that they hadn't said anything to each other since Danny so smoothly announced they would have to dance together. Wasn't that weird?

He felt as if he had to say something, just to break the silence.

"You comfortable?" He whispered softly in her ear. She felt his tickling breath against her skin and a shiver ran down her spine.

"Yes" She replied. Why wouldn't she be? She was in his arms, the best place in the world.

"You sure?" He asked again, just to be certain.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry" She said and lifted her head reluctantly of his shoulder to look at him. It was sweet that he cared so much about her feelings.

She looked into his ocean deep blue eyes and got lost there again, just like before. Those eyes seemed to have that effect on her. He looked right back at her, and it was almost like time stopped again. They were having a moment, swaying to the music and looking into each others eyes.

Right then, they both felt so happy. That meant it was time for their next surprise, which just might be the biggest of them all ...

The music stopped. What was it with Danny and interruptions this evening? She had seen him earlier over at the stereo; this must be his work too.

When they broke their intense gaze and looked around they could see that once again they were the center of attention and everybody had formed a ring around them and was staring.

Oh my God, Sam thought. How long had the others stood like that? Had they been watching this entire time? She didn't think so, but it wasn't impossible. She had been too busy falling in love with Martin to notice.

This definitely wasn't a prank because when she looked up at Martin he shared her surprised expression on his face.

Inside Martin was as confused as she was. He didn't feel like being humiliated by Danny one more time this evening, even though he had a growing suspicion that that would be the case.

What the hell was going on? The dance couldn't be over yet, could it?

He didn't want it to be, it was the worlds greatest feeling to have Samantha in his arms. If he could he would make it last forever.

But if the dance wasn't over then why was everyone staring? Had they embarrassed themselves this time or what?

Then in the corner of their eyes they both saw Danny coming towards them with a cheeky smirk on his face. He was up to something and they both knew it.

Hadn't he made fun of them enough tonight? He should have just leave them alone now that everything was going so well, Sam thought.

She was actually beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, Martin felt something for her too. They could possibly have a little chance. Why should Danny come and ruin it all? Damn it.

Danny had turned off the stereo at just the right moment and was very proud of himself. It was time for the grand finale of his brilliant plan, If he could say so himself.

He walked closer and closer to Martin and Sam who had stepped back from each other a little but were still standing close, which was good.

It was time.

As Danny walked closer and closer both Martin and Sam became more and more nervous. They had long since figured out he had something up his sleeve, they just didn't know what.

He was such a close friend and co-worker to them and knew them almost inside and out so he could've come up with anything.

He probably had several ideas but chose the one most embarrassing for them so he could have something to gossip about in the office on Monday. They both knew that humiliating them was his favourite activity.

So as he came closer and closer it wasn't so strange that they wondered what was going on. It was after all Danny they were talking about here.

The rest of the office was following his every step with the same anticipation, so they did didn't seem to know either.

When he was standing just a few feet away from them, he said with a calm and yet teasing voice:

"Look up".

That was it. Martin and Samantha both looked above them at the same time. And there it was.

Mistletoe. 

It was hanging right over their heads, they were right beneath it. It was really amazing they hadn't discovered it before, of course courtesy of Danny, it was well hidden behind a lamp just for that purpose, but still, they were FBI-agents.

Now they both understood this had been Danny's plan all along, he had made up a game which would force them to dance together and then just waited until the right moment when they were dancing directly under the mistletoe to turn of the music and force them to kiss.

Unfortunately, it seemed like he succeeded - Or was it really unfortunate? Sam thought. Inside she felt like she wanted to kiss Martin. Yeah, she did. But did he want it too?

She was scared to death to find out he didn't want the same thing at all, that would devastate her. She felt very insecure but moved past her doubts and decided to look into Martins eyes anyway, to try to get some sense into all of this. So she did, she looked into his eyes.

When their eyes met, Martin didn't know what to think. During their dance, Martin thought just for a moment that his feelings were actually mutual, and now seeing her not running away or looking completely terrified, he asked himself, could it really be so? Was it possible that she felt the same way he did?

As he wasn't 100 sure, would he dare to chance and kiss her in front of all of these people? If she rejected him, he wouldn't only heartbroken, but also humiliated for life. But somehow he felt like it was just how someone once had told him:

'To win in life, sometimes you have to take a chance.'

And when Martin looked down and met Samantha's eyes in the exact same moment he did, He knew his mind wouldn't have any chance in this battle against his heart. When he saw those chocolate brown pupils stare at him like that, he knew all he could do was follow his heart. 

He let go of all his doubts and slowly leaned in, tilting his head a little to the right and bringing a hand up to carefully hold her arm, he gently pushed his lips against hers in the sweetest and most tender kiss.

Samantha stood hand fallen by the emotions coursing through her body. When she met Martin's eyes she had somehow understood what he was going to do, but was still equally surprised when his lips met hers in their first kiss. She would've never imagined it felt this good just to kiss him. It was perfect and amazing, just like Martin, she thought. 

So there they were, in the middle of the MPU-office, sharing a kiss which anyone could see was way more then just friendly, with everyone watching them. Completely lost in each other and oblivious to that they were in public and watched by a whole office.

But right now, they didn't mind. They were too caught up in so long suppressed feelings for each other coming up to the surface.

So they stayed like that, just kissing. Who knew that could be so great? Well, for them, it was.

After another five minutes of watching, and there was still no acknowledgement from either Martin or Samantha, the crowd got tired of watching and went to continue the party without them.

Only Danny stayed for a little while longer and watched. He was happy that his plan had worked out so well and that he even got to embarrass them a little bit in the process. Now they all would definitely have something to talk about the following Monday. His guess was that Martin and Samantha would be the number one office-gossip for quite awhile now. He was happy about that too.

But most of all, he was happy for Martin and Samantha, that they had gotten what they both had wanted for such a long time. And he was proud to have helped them. Right now they might be a little mad at him for doing what he did and purposely embarrassing them in front of the whole office, but one day he knew they would thank him.

Things would probably change a lot from here for them, both inside and outside the office, but only for the better. Danny knew that now once they had taken that first step, they could take care of themselves. They no longer needed Danny's help to develop their relationship, but that was okay.

But just because from now on, they would be a couple and in a relationship together, that didn't mean the game of stolen glances would end.

They would always do that, steal glances from each other.

**  
The End**


End file.
